


The Wampus Bite

by roanoke9934



Series: Fantastic Beasts and How to Spoil Them [1]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Autistic Newt Scamander, Gen, Some Humor, i love writing newt as a character he's absolutely fantastic, mostly just to indulge my obsession with magical creatures, some violence but its just a bite from an animal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:55:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roanoke9934/pseuds/roanoke9934
Summary: Newt catches whispers about an injured Wampus nearby.
Relationships: Newt Scamander & Newt Scamander's Magical Beasts
Series: Fantastic Beasts and How to Spoil Them [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041250
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	The Wampus Bite

Newt was no stranger to higher classified beasts. There was rarely a moment when he was fearful anymore. Creatures were much easier to read than humans, as creatures would always show you exactly how they felt. He knew that if anything ever were to go wrong, it would be his own fault. Nature made no mistakes, only human interference could cause such a thing. The thought wasn’t easing his nerves very well, as he was still nervous deep down. 

After quite a while of tracking magical signatures and pawprints, Newt had finally gone face to face with the Wampus. It had --understandably-- been extremely aggressive, and even more so due to its injuries. Newt knew that he’d have to approach this situation differently, as this Wampus already had interactions with less than desirable humans and had sustained a leg injury. This would only increase the amount of force that the Wampus was willing to use to defend itself, as its main defense of speed was thwarted. Newt was going in with less information than usual, coupled with a very angry, injured creature. It was far from an ideal situation. 

He’d calmed it enough to lure it to his case, but not without a fight. Newt had never resorted to anything other than positive reinforcement, and he hadn’t planned to as long as he lived. Sure, it would have been much easier to just stun the Wampus, but he didn’t feel it was necessary. Newt had to be careful not to think too much about his next move, as the Wampus was rumored to have powers of legilimency if you looked it in the eye. Newt had no problem avoiding eye contact, as he tended to do it regularly anyway. He’d approached slow, keeping his wand in his off-hand for the worst case scenario. Strangely enough, muggle-grown catmint seemed to be the easiest way to calm most magical beasts that had feline DNA. It was an interesting --and accidental-- discovery, generated by Newt noticing how interested his Kneazle seemed to be in muggle cat toys. Upon examination, he discovered that it was infused with catmint. Even the Nundu and Zomwu seemed to be very intrigued by the catmint toys. The Zomwu’s wand had proved even more effective when Newt let it rest in a bath of catmint leaves overnight. Newt was now silently praying that the Wampus was no different that the other feline beasts he’d tested this theory on.

Thankfully, the catmint had worked enough to act as a lure to the curious beast, who had never caught a whiff of the potent herb before. This almost worked on the first try, but Newt had misstepped and tripped over a rock while he tried to back away. This startled the beast, causing it to bristle and attack. Newt thought to reach for his wand, but it was knocked away before he’d even had the chance to move towards it. The Wampus’ teeth were so sharp that they could most likely cut bone with ease. Those teeth sliced through layers of clothes, skin, and muscle with no problem.

Dizzying with pain, Newt chokes back a scream, not wanting to agitate the beast even more than it already was. All he could let out was a breathless gasp, then clenching his jaw so hard that he swore his teeth might crack. He froze, fighting against his instinctual desire to either defend himself or run. Instead of fight or flight, his brain has seemed to take the fawn path. Newt’s mind seemed empty, no thoughts of either the incredible danger he was in or the looming death that he was no doubt approaching.

That might have been what saved his life.

The Wampus loosened her grip, licking her bloodied lips with a clean swipe of her long tongue. She seemed almost perplexed, eyes fixated on the trembling human before her that was strangely calm. No thrashing like her normal prey, no fear, absolutely nothing. This reaction was unlike any human she’d ever interacted with. Usually they were petrified, screaming, running, swatting with anything they could grab. Something was different.

Newt blinks rapidly, keeping his gaze fixated on the ground like it was the most interesting thing in the world. He managed to take in a deep, shaky breath, his hand ever so slowly reaching for his wand. The Wampus watched intently, a deep growl rising in her throat. Newt slowed his movements even more out of caution. Any further mishaps would more than likely mean a  _ coup de gr _ _ âce _ .

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” Newt pleads in barely a whisper, almost as if the Wampus could understand him. “I just want to help you.”

The Wampus didn’t move a muscle, only its eyes following Newt’s every move. Once Newt had retrieved his wand, he pointed it to where he thought his stash of catmint had flown to in the struggle. “ _ Accio _ catmint.” Newt mumbles, his voice strained from the burning agony in his leg. A few leaves came towards his outstretched hand, but the movement seemed to agitate the Wampus again. Her hiss was so loud that it made Newt flinch. He prepared to be finished off, but her anger was redirected to something else that Newt couldn’t see.

She whipped her head around, letting out a fierce snarl. Newt was able to crane his head to the side, seeing the top of his case open just a little. It was enough for the paw of his Niffler to sneak out and grab the nearest thing.. which happened to be the tail tip of a very,  _ very _ angry Wampus cat. The Wampus seemed to forget all about Newt, turning towards the Niffler instead. The much smaller creature with poorer eyesight didn’t even seem to notice the danger it was in. Sniffling, he only caught wind of what was going on when the cat pounced. Squealing in terror, the Niffler went right back into the suitcase. The Wampus yowled in frustration, trying to claw open the case. Newt moved much quicker now that the cat’s attention was elsewhere. He grabbed his wand, flicking open his case so the Wampus could leap inside, thinking it was going to find the Niffler. Once it closed, a few angry snarls and yelps echoed from inside, but the attempt to escape was in vain.

Newt’s ears were buzzing with adrenaline. He inhaled deeply through his nose, his gaze returning to the rather nasty bite on his leg. He’d almost forgotten due to the rush of excitement of the successful capture, but now that his emotion was lessening, the pain worsened. Fire had seemed to ignite under his skin, the almost excruciating pins and needles making Newt’s head spin.

“ _ Merlin _ , you right chewed me up.” Newt sibilates, hesitating on his attempt to pull himself to his feet. Fabric from his pants were hanging down in shreds, revealing the nasty wound that was bleeding quite profusely. He wasn’t sure if he could stand, not with the intense burning of a bite with this amount of power. “You’re definitely no Murlap, are you?”

He heard a growl from his case in response.

Once he caught his breath, Newt managed to stand. He limped over to his case, which had landed a few feet away after the Wampus’s struggles to escape made it bounce around. He grabbed his coat from a nearby branch he’d draped it over earlier. Newt then approached cautiously, waiting a few extra seconds before opening his case. He winced as his foot hit the ladder rung. He’d endured plenty of injuries in the past, but never a Wampus bite. It was unlike any other, the burn in his muscles way stronger than any other he’d experienced. The Wampus must have had a much higher force in its jaws. A burn like this made Newt wonder if he was finally in a bit over his head. 

What was he kidding? He’d rescued a Nundu. He could handle something  _ without _ deadly breath. 

Once Newt reached the bottom of the ladder, he wobbled to his nearby workbench. He had to lean heavily on it, a pained gasp being pushed from his lungs every time he tried to put even a scrap of weight on his leg.

Newt scrambled to complete a remedy for the pain, the intensity starting to frizzle his brain. He completed it as quickly as he could manage, skipping the step to bottle the mixture and instead just drinking it straight from the bowl. The expression on his face softened instantly as the pain melted away. He let out a relieved sigh, setting the bowl down and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. With the pain numbed, Newt could feel the adrenaline rush subsiding. He could now put at least a little weight on his injury, making it easier to walk. Newt dressed the wound as normal, then whipped up an extra bottle of the pain remedy for later.

He would be a liar if he said he wasn’t a little nervous. He’d done his best to replicate the western forests of America, having done extensive research on it before even thinking about trying to obtain a Wampus cat. He hadn’t even intended for the new addition to be a Wampus in the first place, but it seemed to fall into place. Coming into contact with a Cherokee hunter had drawn him into it.

Natives seemed to always know that there were creatures that were otherworldly, and the opportunity to study a Wampus sighting was far too much for Newt to resist. Being elusive in nature, Newt was easily tempted into trying to do some much needed research for an entry in his novel. Once Newt had been informed that the cat had been previously wounded by American poachers, he had his mind made up in seconds. Now, he had to figure out how to accumulate a pissed off Wampus to an enclosure.

Before, he’d thought that not many things could truly scare him anymore. That thought had all but melted away as he now stood in front of the gap between the fences that kept the Wampus in. Newt had prepared the Wampus its first meal, mixing in a little bit of muggle catmint just to be safe. He didn’t expect much from this second encounter, a twinge of pain in his leg reminding him so every time he took a step. He slipped between the fences, glancing up as his surroundings changed.

_ My, _ Newt thinks,  _ It’s beautiful. _

He really couldn’t help but admire his own handiwork. The sky was a calm, milky blue, and the vegetation nearby directly mirrored the natural habitat of the Wampus. He stood still for a few moments, admiring the beauty of the world he’d created. Newt then set his bucket down, tipping it with his other hand to disperse the meal for the Wampus out on the nearby rock cladding. He took a few steps back, bringing his hand up to his mouth and whistling with two fingers. Might as well start the positive reinforcement as soon as possible. The quicker that the Wampus associated him with good things, the better.

It took a couple minutes, and one more whistle, but soon enough there were a few flickers of movement in the distance. The Wampus approached from behind a massive rock, cautiously observing Newt. When he didn’t show any signs of aggression, the Wampus came closer. One of her middle legs was clearly injured, as it was curled up close to her body instead of being used. Newt just watched, staying as close to perfectly still as he could manage. She didn’t seem to see him as a threat, taking her eyes off him for a moment so she could eat. 

“You deserve a name.” Newt says softly, tilting his head a little to get a better look at her. “Something powerful would match you well.” 

The Wampus only grunted as a reply, too focused on eating.

Newt had to think for a bit, looking through the filing cabinets of his head for a suitable name. His expression brightened when he thought of one. “How about  Acharné?” He asks, “It’s french, actually. Means ‘the fiercest’.. I think. I wasn’t much for learning proper french.”

The newly named Acharné glanced up. Newt could have sworn that if she could, she would have shrugged. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

Acharné rose to her feet after finishing her meal, using one paw to wash her face free of debris. Newt was making mental notes as he observed her behavior. He was honestly still in awe at the sight of such an elusive beast. Being able to see a Wampus with his own eyes felt like opening presents on Christmas morning. He stood calmly, his hands comfortably in his pockets. Despite his unbothered body language, his brain was on overdrive. Everything that he was witnessing was new, making it very easy to captivate all of his attention.

Once Acharné had finished, she padded over to a warm spot nearby. Letting out a soft purr, she stretched her front legs, then settling down in the warm grass. Newt had been completely still up until now, wanting to make sure she could have a full meal before doing anything else. A smile twitched at his lips as he observed Acharné’s quite comfortable behavior. She still didn’t seem to see Newt as a threat, which was exactly what he wanted. 

She glanced back at him, their gazes meeting for the first time. Newt stared, unblinking, tilting his head slightly. Acharné seemed to be searching, but found nothing worthy of her concern in Newt’s mind. She let out a lazy yawn, breaking eye contact and instead letting her head loll backwards to rest in the sunny spot.

Newt’s smile widened.

  
  



End file.
